Oh, Those Cold Winter Nights
by cXrASSASSIN13
Summary: Tony must break up with Steve to protect him from Howard and the full might of the company. What he ends up doing is exactly the opposite.
1. Chapter 1

**_To all of my wonderful followers, thank you all for being cool enough to press that little 'follow' button on Tumblr! Thanks to the people who have supported me with my stories and put up with my crazy update schedule, you know who you are. Thanks to all the people on AO3 for leaving Kudos and Comments, bookmarks and follows. THANK YOU EVERYONE!_**

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><p><strong><strong>_"Break up with him, or the company and I will have to take precautionary measures to keep that annoying little prick away from you!" Howard Stark snarled down at a shivering Tony, who was cowing down under his father's faze. _

_ "Y-yes sir." Tony mumbled, clutching at his sides where Howard had kicked him, not moments ago._

_ Howard rushed at Tony, grabbing his hair and throwing his head back. "ANSWER ME IN A PROPER TONE OF VOICE, YOU POMPOUS LITTLE SHIT!" Howard yelled in Tony's face, so close that Tony could smell the alcohol on his breath. Tony whimpered, his bruised body making itself known when Howard grabbed him._

_ "Yes, sir!" Tony said in a monotone voice, trying to keep his emotions in check in fear of Howard lashing out again._

_ "Good. You do it tonight, and I don't want another word on the subject." Stark senior slurred, and let go of Tony's hair in favor of grabbing another drink. Tony slid down to the floor, his dress shirt rumpled and stained with blood from a head wound Howard inflicted. A silent tear streaked down the side of Tony's face before Tony angrily wiped it away._

Tony was standing in Central Park, freezing and miserable. 'Winter in New York is a bitch.' Tony thought, and pulled his coat tighter around his shivering body. Tony stared out, waiting for his boyfriend of a year to come and find him. Tony smiled at the thought of Steve. Good, nice, warm, safe, caring. His Steve.

_'He's not going to be mine much longer.'_

Tony angrily wiped the thought away, preferring to put on his best press-smile and began to prepare to let his heart go in the form of a 6'5, blonde, coffee shop owner. The thought of that makes his heart curl up and weep.

_'It's for the best.'_

Tony saw Steve's car pull up on the side of the road.

_'It's for his own good.'_

He saw Steve get out of the car, saw his head turn to look in every direction before his gaze landed on Tony. He saw the instant his face lit up, as if seeing Tony in the middle of winter was the best sight ever.

_'You need to be a Stark. You need to put others before you, especially ones like Steve.'_

Tony smiled weakly back at Steve, lifting up a cold hand to wave at Steve.

_'Do it for Steve.'_

As Steve walked over, Tony felt as if each step was a reminder of their long relationship. The longest one Tony has ever had with love, kindness and understanding for himself and the life he lived. Tony didn't want to let that all fall apart, the love and trust he has acquired from Steve over time.

Tony sees Steve's feet appear before him and he lifts his head up, a little surprised he put his head down in the first place.

_'That's a sign of weakness. You're a man, ACT LIKE IT.'_

Steve smiled at him brightly and leaned in for a kiss. Tony turned his head away and Steve's lips pressed softly against his cheek. Steve pulled back, a little confused at Tony's actions, before putting on his bright smile again and grabbing Tony's cold hands in his.

"Hey Tony. You wanted to see me?" Steve asked, rubbing Tony's hands together between his in a vain attempt to warm them back up.

Tony took a deep breath and pulled his hands back. Steve stared at Tony, perplexed at his boyfriend's actions. Before Tony could muster up the courage to tell Steve, Steve quickly took off his winter jacket and put it around Tony's shoulders.

"Gosh Tony, your shivering like crazy! What's wrong, honey? Everything all right?" Steve asked, and adjusted the coat snuggly around Tony's body.

"Wait, before you answer that, there's something I have got to tell you." Steve said, smiling brightly at Tony again before continuing on. "We've been dating for almost a year now, which by the way has been the best year of my life, and I've been thinking." Steve sank down to one knee, grabbing one of Tony's hands.

Tony was shocked. _'No, please don't, please don't, please don't..'_

"Tony Stark, the love of my life, the guy who holds the key to my heart… Will you marry me?" Steve asked, and pulled out a tiny red box. Not caring if the snow was soaking through his jeans, or the fact that he was freezing from not having a coat on, Steve pulled out the ring. It was simple, yet elegant in a way that only could be described as loving. Somehow, Steven Grant Rodgers found the perfect ring that was such a declaration of love that Tony could just only hold back tears.

Steve took Tony's silence as one of Tony's internal debates. "I know it's not much, but I've been saving up and working some extra jobs here and there. Buck's been a real big help and he even helped me look at ring's! We might've found a nice apartment, and I know you're a millionare, but it's all we could do at the moment! I promise we'll find something better, together and-"

Tony shook his head, taking himself out of his mind and answering. "No."

Steve looked up at Tony, eyes wide and face stuck in a mixture of shock and hurt.

"I know, it's not much, but Tony, me and you can find something-!"

"Steve, I said no. I called you here to break up with you." Tony replied, voice hard and cold, the ache in his chest growing stronger with each word.

Steve stood up slowely, ring still clutched in his hand. "W-why? But…?" Steve said, lost and looking at Tony for clarification.

Tony took a deep breathe, before replying "We can't be together. I mean, a millionare soon-to-be-billionare marrying a low class coffee shop owner? I mean, the horror! Sorry Steve. It was fun while it lasted, but this playboys gotta move on. Sorry you got too attached, it comes with the Stark package." Tony noticed that with each insult, Steve's face fell a little bit more until he was on the verge of crying. In that moment, Tony Stark well and true hated himself, since he was the one who put that heartbreak there. He saw the tiny, unhealthy Brooklyn boy standing there instead of his knight in shining armor, and he hated the fact that he made Steve feel so small.

Tony turned and walked away. He couldn't bear the look of hurt and lost on Steve's face. He felt lower than low, he felt like his heart was ripped out of his chest or like there was something lodged inside his body. Tears fell freely, and Tony speed up his pace, holding Steve's jacket close.

He heard footsteps follow him, and he sped up even more before dropping Steve's coat completely and running as fast as he could. The footsteps grew louder and Tony kept running, until strong hands grabbed his waist and spun him up and around. Strong arms encircled his waist and left Tony being supported by a strong chest. Tony lashed out, screaming and kicking, tears blurring his vision as he was carried. Steve's face appeared in Tony's line of sight, and Tony gave up. His arms went up and wrapped around Steve's neck while his legs wrapped around his waist, his sobs the only sound in the quiet park. Tony was carried to Steve's car, Steve using one hand to hold him and the other to open the car door. He was carefully set inside and buckled in, not moving once. Steve got into the other side and quickly turned on the car, his main focus on warming his boyfriend… his friend up.

They sat in silence for a few moments, Tony's head laying against the window, his eyes staring unseeingly out. Steve opened his mouth to speak a couple of times, before giving up and waiting for Tony to be the first one to make a move.

Tony slowly wiped the tears out of is eyes and flashed one quick glance at Steve, who in turn was staring right back at him. Tony cleared his throat, before saying hoarsely, "I just broke up with you Steve, I don't think that means kidnapping me and shoving me into your car."

Steve didn't even smirk. "I know you Tony. Something happened, and we are waiting in this car until you tell me what."

Tony turned his head to glare at Steve, who gasped and grabbed his chin with one and. Tony flinched a bit, before letting Steve examine his black eye.

"When did this happen." Steve asked lowly, turning Tony's face to get a better look, his other hand digging around blindly in the backseat to find his first aid kit he brought everywhere.

Tony swallowed thickly, before replying "Right before I went to see you. Howard, he was drinking and it just got out of hand…" Tony explained, embarrassed by the fact that he couldn't even defend himself when Howard got out of control.

Steve's eyes hardened, before taking his hand away from Tony's chin and looking back to grab the first aid kit. He took out the gauze and butterfly stitches before gently grabbing Tony's chin again and making him face outside again. Tony winced as the gauze was applied, and the butterfly stitches were placed over cuts Tony didn't even notice he had.

"I had to break up with you, or he would HURT you, Steve! He would've taken EVERYTHING from you, from Buck and Nat and Clint, Bruce and everyone! I just, I couldn't…" Tony sobbed out as soon as Steve was done.

Steve stroked his uninjured cheek softly, making soothing noises as Tony sobbed in his car.

"It's all right, darling. You don't need to protect us, we can do it ourselves. You don't need to risk yourself for us, we'll be alright." Steve whispered and put his hand on Tony's knee, which Tony immediately covered with his own. Tony let out a few more tears, before visibly patching his emotions up and glancing over at Steve.

"He-he hit me. And he kicked me in my chest…And, oh Steve, it hurt so bad-!" Tony whimpered, curling into himself a little as Steve reached over to unbuckled him and pull him into a hug. Tony whimpered when his body was jostled too much, and Steve immediately let go in favor of kissing him on the forehead.

"You're not with him anymore, Tones. You're with me, I'll keep you safe. No matter what, remember?" Steve smiled at him and Tony flashed back to when they first met, at a party for the opening of Steve's coffee shop, where Tony was drunk out of his mind and Steve was there to save him from two groping men.

_"He doesn't want what you're offering, Hammer. Killian, you should know better, using a drunk man for your own pleasure!" Steve growled at the two employees, making a mental note to fire them latter._

_ Killian giggled and Hammer saluted, "Aye, aye Captain!" They shouted as they stumbled away. _

_ Steve cradled the man in his arms, who opened up his eyes briefly and looking at him with mistrust. "You-you aren't gonna try nothin', are ya?" The brunette slurred, glaring at Steve with such force that Steve wondered how the man could muster up that much energy in such a drunken state._

_ "No, I'm going to keep you safe, ok?" Steve said kindly, and proceeded to carry the man into his apartment bedroom._

_ "Promise?" the dark haired man piped up, voice sounding so sad and lost. Steve's heart broke for the man in his arms, knowing something awful must've happened to him for him to sound so sad._

_ "Promise."_

Tony smiled at the drunken memory. He remembers cleaning up for Steve and asking him out. He remembers their first date, first kiss, first time making love. He smiles weakly and looks up at Steve, pain forgotten for the time being.

"Hey, Steve?" Tony asks, looking as hopeful as he could.

"Yes, Tony?"

"I'd think I would like to marry you."

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><p><strong>Small one-shot, hoped you all liked. THANK YOU, YOU SPECIAL DARLINGS YOU!<strong>


	2. Chapter 2

hort and sweet. Request one shot? Gifting for everyone.

Howard slammed the newspaper down, and in a moment of pure rage, flipped the hardwood table over, screaming all the while. He lashed out, throwing his tumbler halfway across the room and destroying everything in his sight. His fist connected with the wall, effectively creating a hole and leaving Howard with a pleasant pain. He screamed, drunk out of his mind, and proceeded to tear his study apart. Maria watched from outside his office, not daring to go inside in fear that he would lash out at her. Silent tears cascaded down her face as she did her best not to sob out of pure joy.

The partially ripped newspaper was still legible, even as Howard spilled what was left of his drink on it, you could still make out the words; _"Marriage of the Century, the new Stark-Rogers empire!"_

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><p>"Steve, no, NO, I can't do this!" Tony whimpered, clutching his chest and slumping down to the floor, Steve down by his side in an instant.<p>

"Tony, baby, yes you can!" Steve whispered, pulling his fiancé into his lap and cradling him fiercely. Tony shook his head and averted his gaze, scared of what he would see in Steve's eyes.

"Tony, we've been through so much, and I will love you even if we have to cancel, but I know you can do this. You're stronger than any of us and it's ok to be scared. Hell, I am too! We just gotta move past this, and if Howard tries to break us apart, we will always find each other again. I'll protect you, and I will always come and save you. We'll be ok." Steve murmured gently, cupping Tony's cheek and staring at him directly. "I will always love you, Tony. No matter what."

Tony stared at Steve for a few minutes and Steve saw the walls crumbling down through Tony's eyes. Tony sighed and pulled Steve in for a kiss. "Not an Oscar-worthy speech, but it'll do for me." Tony spoke, a small smile on his face. Steve laughed and they both picked themselves up and off the floor.

Steve turned to Tony and held out his hand. Tony gave him a nervous smile, holding out his own hand and interlacing their fingers.

"You ready to be married to me forever?" Tony asked jokingly.

"'Till death do us part." Steve said confidently, stroking the back of Tony's hand.

"C'mon boys, it's go time!" Pepper whispered, suddenly appearing behind them and pushing them both towards the tall oak doors.

The two smiled at each other one last time, before pushing the doors open to their new life.

Steve never once let go of Tony's hand.

**Thanks to all my lovely commenters and visitors. I love you all! Request a one-shot whenever, I owe you all for makin' my day better with your comments and favorites/follows. You're all very lovely people to me! THANK YOU.**


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